March 20–26, 2020 Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 7
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Small biz advocates demand tax relief
By Rose Adams
Brooklyn Paper
As mom-and-pop shops
across the borough shutter
amid the coronavirus outbreak,
Brooklyn’s biggest
business booster is calling
on federal and local governments
to save small businesses
from the pending perilous economic
downturn.
“The situation is unprecedented,”
said Randy Peers,
the president of the Brooklyn
Chamber of Commerce. “It
started with these larger restaurants…
now it’s food manufacturers
that supply restaurants.
Our hotels are taking a
beating right now. It really is
spreading now across various
different industries.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio signed
an executive order on March
16 forcing entertainment venues,
gyms, and eat-in dining
establishments to halt operations
indefinitely as health
officials try to mitigate the
spread of the novel infection.
Those mandatory closures,
as well as medical experts’
pleas to self-quarantine, have
sent local small businesses into
a tailspin — forcing employers
to lay off staff and cut costs as
the situation worsens.
The city, state, and federal
governments have all put forth
policies to stem the grim tides,
but Peers has used his perch
atop the chamber to advocate
for a series of policy priorities
— which he claims are
both realistic and necessary
to saving the “backbone of the
economy.”
“We’re going to need some
deep, deep involvement from
the federal government, and
from the city and state,” he
said.
Among the legislative
goals on the chamber’s wish
list are:
• Suspension of the New
York State sales tax for an initial
period of six months
Reduction of the New York
State’s business income tax
by half for 2020
• An indefinite moratorium
on non-health related business
violations and fines
• Repeal of New York City’s
Commercial Rent Tax on small
businesses
• Creation of a fund to support
small businesses that undertake
“deep cleanings” in
response to confirmed coronavirus
infections on site
• Cap on third-party delivery
fees from companies like
Grubhub at 10 percent to funnel
funds towards shops and
away from tech companies
These objectives, aimed
at giving entrepreneurs more
economic and operational
breathing room, would go inside
a grab-bag of policy proposals
from various legislative
entities — like the New
York City and United States
federal governments plans to
provide low interest loans to
business owners.
Under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s
proposal, institutions
with fewer than 100 employees
could receive an interestfree
loan of up to $75,000 —
if they can prove that they’ve
lost 25 percent of their revenue
due to the coronavirus,
according to City Hall.
And while those loan programs
present a “positive
‘Brooklyn Mom’ keeps parents linked
By Meg Capone
for Brooklyn Paper
As the novel coronavirus
continues to spread and schools
across the city close, at least
one “Brooklyn Mom” is working
to take some of the added
pressure off of parents.
Stay-at-home mother Angie
Wong is using the Facebook
group she founded in
2015 to encourage camaraderie
amongst parents, while
helping to educate children and
keep them connected.
Wong founded the “Brooklyn
Moms” page after realizing
the borough didn’t have its
own online group for mothers.
Now that the page has
over 11,000 followers, Wong
says the group has become a
source of sanity for moms in
any stage of parenthood — and
especially during this time of
upheaval.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak,
Wong has started inviting
group members to use
online education sources such
as “Little Fox,” and has even
started using Facebook Live
to host some “classes.” During
the livestreams, Wong invites
teachers and tutors to do readalong
exercises or showcase
do-it-yourself projects.
Photo by Angie Wong
DA halts low-level prosecutions
By Kevin Duggan
Brooklyn Paper
Brooklyn District Attorney
Eric Gonzalez will decline to
prosecute low-level offenders
that don’t pose a risk to the
public in order to reduce the
amount of people exposed to
coronavirus, according to a
March 17 statement.
“In the interests of public
health and safety, and
in appropriate exercise of
prosecutorial discretion, we
will immediately decline to
prosecute low-level offenses
that don’t jeopardize public
safety,” Gonzalez’s statement
read.
The offenses Brooklyn’s
top prosecutor will no longer
take to court include crimes
that do not require an order of
protection, according to the
DA’s spokesman Oren Yaniv,
which judges issue to a person
who is abusing, harassing,
threatening, or intimidating
someone.
These crimes could include
driving without a license or
shoplifting, according to Yaniv,
who noted that the office
will still assess the need
for prosecution on a case-bycase
basis.
The spokesman could not
immediately provide an estimate
of how many cases that
would impact, citing the unprecedented
circumstances of
COVID-19.
Two weeks ago, an employee
of the criminal justice
advocacy nonprofit Vera Institute
working out of the Kings
County Supreme Court building
at 320 Jay St. tested positive
for the respiratory illness,
although the courthouse remained
open, the Daily News
reported.
CORONAVIRUS
CRISIS IN
BROOKLYN
move” toward much needed
relief, Peers called on the government
to do much more to
stem the businesses’ losses —
like major tax-relief and significant
deregulation — as
some businesses simply cannot
weather the financial storm
of prolonged closures.
“For some businesses that
have to close completely, a
loan isn’t going to help them,”
said Peers.
Other business advocates
agreed with the chamber president’s
stark assessment, saying
there needs to be a federally
funded stimulus package
“on the scale or larger” than
packages in years past.
“I don’t think that aid of
this magnitude could come
from the city,” said Alexandra
Silversmith, the executive
of the business advocacy
group the Alliance for Coney
Island. “Especially since this
is a country-wide issue. It’s
not just the restaurants but reWong
said prior to the clo- tail as well.”
sure of New York City public
schools that she had been
working closely with those in
the borough, in hopes of providing
the Brooklyn Moms Facebook
page with access to
teaching modules such as online
tests built for students who
are unable to come into the
classroom for various reasons.
Coronavirus has been a
main topic of conversation
within the group for the last
month, Wong said, but anxiety
amongst group members
has certainly spiked in recent
days.
“Conversations regarding
the coronavirus went from,
‘I’m going to remain relaxed
and still plan on going to Disney
World over spring break
with my kids’ to ‘Who has
room in their home outside of
the city where my kids and I
can hide’ in a matter of days,”
Wong said.
According to Wong, most
families with the means to
leave the city have already
done so. However, the reality
is much different for parents
who can’t afford babysitters or
daycare and are forced to quarantine
within the city. Wong
also stressed that those families
who often utilize the help
of extended family or grandparents
in more vulnerable age
groups have been unable to.
With tensions and fears rising,
Wong said she has been
forced to delete some posts
on the group page spreading
panic and false information. In
their place, Wong said she has
tried to reinforce facts about
the coronavirus and restore a
sense of calm.
“We are a resourceful group
of parents, specifically moms,
who may not have a cure for the
coronavirus or perfect knowledge
on how to avoid it, but we
can help each other get through
this,” Wong said.
Angie Wong’s Facebook
group is helping parents
during the outbreak.
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